


Children of Ice

by RobinJay



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Romance, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-07
Updated: 2016-02-13
Packaged: 2018-05-18 16:47:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5935636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobinJay/pseuds/RobinJay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gray Fullbuster was a young boy when he met Kayla Ravenfrost; a girl with a mysterious background. Before he joined Fairytail, before he met Ur and Lyon, there was Kayla. As Gray's life crumbled apart time and time again, Kayla was the one constant in his life. She's always by his side. And he's always by hers; despite the lies she surrounds herself with.</p><p>Eventually, the two find themselves at a Mage's Guild. Fairy Tail of Fiore. They adjust quickly, finding their places as the new Ice Mages of the guild. But Kayla can't keep her secrets for much longer, and a nightmare has begun to surround them that threatens their new lives, and the new friends that they've made.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Destinies Entwined

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story I started nearly 3 years ago when I got frustrated that there was no Ice Dragon Slayer in Fairy Tail, and I've been thinking about revamping it for a while now! I'm hoping republishing it on AO3 will help motivate me to finally finish this story. The first 8 or so chapters will be giving a background to Kayla, as well as her past with Gray and the rest of the guild. After that they'll be about the age the characters are at the beginning of the series.

"Crysteeeeel!" a young girl complains, "You've never left me alone before, what am I supposed to do all alone?!" This young girl pouts, sitting on the ground in an icy cave. She is a small yet strong-willed eight year old. The girl's chocolate brown hair is pulled back into two short braids that whip around as a flurry of snow comes from the entrance. Her deep green eyes hold a spark of defiance, but the mother can see the fear in there as well. She has never been left alone before.

"I'll only be gone for a day, young one. I think you can handle that." Crysteel's low voice rumbles around the cave, and she rests the tip of her snout on Kayla's head, "There is some business that I must attend to. Tomorrow is the only day I will be able to fly in this direction without any of the valley villagers noticing me. One last massive storm before summer comes."

Kayla Ravenfrost, the young girl talking to her mother, is none other than the Ice Dragon Slayer in training. Making Crysteel, her foster mother, the Ice Dragon. Together they live in a cave at the top of a frozen mountain in one of the coldest places in the world. Being raised in such a place, Kayla is used to the cold. So much so that she’s completely comfortable wearing an oversized t-shirt, a white hat with icy blue details given to her by Crysteel on her 6th birthday, and a small pair of jeans.

"But I'll be bored!" Kayla says. Her current technique is to say anything that might make Crysteel stay. Even if these things aren’t exactly true.

Crysteel's round, light blue scales rustle softly with an almost melodic jingle as she laughs softly. "Practice your dragon roar. Then I can demonstrate a new technique upon my return."

The brunette gives her mother a stubborn look. Never did she like to so easily give in. Her stubbornness often got Kayla into trouble. Kayla's face brightens up with an idea. "What about if I go down to the village?"

All of Kayla's memories are within the cave, or anywhere else on the mountain training with her mother. Having been raised by a dragon in the mountains, Kayla hasn’t interacted with other human children. At least, not since she was abandoned at a very young age. She knows from what Crysteel told her that she spoke the human tongue, so she would be able to potentially communicate. The idea of meeting other people brings her joy and extreme curiosity.

The low rumble of the female dragon's laughter stops, her expression darkening ever so slightly as to not scare her child. "That is one thing I am most uncomfortable with you doing..." Crysteel says warily. Kayla looks at her, confused. She isn’t sure why the dragon is suddenly so worked up. "It's not that I don't want you to meet the villagers down there, as I am hesitantly approving of humans for the most part, but they cannot know my existence. I'm not even sure how they'd treat you if you were to speak of myself or the magic that I have taught you."

"Oh, right." The small brunette nods and looks down, understanding what the dragon was saying. Kayla didn't want people to dislike or be wary of her just because her mom was a dragon. Crysteel has told her in the past that she would be able to mingle more with humans when she’s older and more capable of taking care of herself. This was a conversation they’ve had a few times in the past, and she was mostly used to it. Even if it made her feel a bit sad. Either way, she was used to spending time with herself and her mother. "I guess that makes sense..."

A few minutes later, Kayla ran to the entrance of the cave to watch Crysteel fly off. She continues to watch until she can only hear the flap of the dragon's wings with her heightened dragon-senses.

Kayla manages to last a full hour in the cave. Practicing her Roar of the Ice Dragon and using her ice to make a slippery ground to skate around on before growing completely bored. 

Grabbing her coat, Kayla runs outside to use her Dragon Slayer magic in different ways, though she's not able to control it very well. Trying her dragon roar one more time, she gets pushed backwards by the backlash and ends up falling down part of the mountain. Luckily, the girl doesn't get that injured as she’s sliding down snow and ice for the majority of the time.

Sitting up, very disgruntled and confused, she looks around to get a grip on her surroundings. About to head up the mountain again, she hears the voice of people. Other, actual humans. 

There's adults having conversations. The sounds of laughter coming from other kids who must be around her age. Even singing and music a little farther away, more distinct than the several conversations that all mix together. Unable to stop herself, Kayla begins to run down the mountain until she stumbles into the main street of the mountain village.

The lesson learned here; you should never leave a determined, dragon raised, and magically powered eight year old alone.

Kayla tries to remain somewhat hidden, not talking to anyone and staying at the edge of the streets as she walks around. Even though she’s basically already done what Crysteel had said not to, Kayla's still trying to heed some of her warnings. The surroundings are wondrous for her. There are street lamps with dazzling flames every ten feet; an icy cobblestone road so you can find your way around; shops with small groups of people milling about on the inside. 

There are also many things Kayla doesn’t have a word for. Crysteel has done her best to teach Kayla everything she can, both with her magic and about the world around her, but it’s hard being a dragon and raising a human girl. At such a young age, she also has many years left to learn more. 

The part that Kayla’s loving most is the amazing smells of food that are both new and well known. Everything is so different, yet oddly familiar at the same time.

The scents. The sounds. She tries to absorb everything as best as she cans. Kayla knows all too well that she can’t stay here for too long, and once she goes back home there is the chance she won’t get the chance to come back. Not until she’s older, at least.

She catches the scent of her favorite food; strawberries. Kayla starts making her way towards what she guesses is a bakery, trying not to rush and look out of place.

What she doesn’t account for is the fact that she needs money in order to get anything. Being a small child who lives in the mountains with a believed mythical creature, she doesn’t have any money on her. Not wanting to leave the pastry bakery because of all it's wonderful scents, Kayla sits in a chair and entertains herself by looking around. The bakery is warm from all of the ovens, an unfamiliar and uncomfortable feeling for the brunette. The cold is definitely more preferable. Not only that, but the walls are painted red. An ugly color, in her opinion.

Maybe not ugly, but too strong of a color. She’s more of a fan of soft, muted colors. 

While she looks around, Kayla's thoughts are interrupted by a superior sounding boy who’s standing with his mother. "Hey, kid! What are you doing here all by yourself. Where's your mom?"

Looking at the boy, Kayla can tell that he can't be too much older than herself. He’s wearing a navy blue jacket with a white shirt underneath, and black jeans. His raven hair is messy and disheveled, yet kind of cute at the same time. What annoys Kayla is the smug look on his face.

"Who you calling kid? I could be older than you," she retorts. The other boy rolls his eyes, but doesn't look away.

"Who are you anyway? I know all the kids here in town, but I've never met you before." Kayla continues to get more annoyed as she detects what sounds like pride and, again, a sense of superiority in his voice. Her mother is a kind, yet, stern and also sometimes sarcastic dragon. Kayla has developed the same traits. 

Thinking for a moment on how to respond she decides on, "I'm Kayla. Kayla Ravenfrost. You wouldn't know me because I live with my mom a few miles outside town. We're here for the day to do our monthly shopping." It wasn't a complete lie. About who she was and where she lived, at least. "And who are you, Mr. I-Know-Everything."

"Gray," he says proudly, a small smile instead of a smirk coming into his expression as he walks closer to Kayla, who gets out of her seat, "Gray Fullbuster. And I think I like you Kayla."

The two stand around and talk for a while as the boy’s mother continues her order, organizing her bags and making small talk with the baker. Kayla spends this time trying to subtly appear taller than she is, as she realizes with annoyance that Gray is taller. After a few minutes, Gray's mother comes over to the two children.

"Who is this Are you lost? Do you need me to find your family?"

Just having gotten happy with talking to the boy, now known as Gray, Kayla frowns. "No, I'm fine. My mom knows where I am."

Apparently the other woman isn’t satisfied with this reply. She huffs and turns her head away, looking between the baker, the children, and the door. "You stay here with the girl while I try and find her mom. Make sure she doesn't go anywhere," says an unconvinced Mrs. Fullbuster, addressing her son. After asking the baker to keep an eye on the two children, she leaves the pastry shop to find this mysterious mother of Kayla's.

Upset now, Kayla tries to keep back a growl of frustration. The last thing she wanted to do was stay in this bakery any longer than she had to. Suddenly, she gets an idea and grins mischievously at Gray. "You don't think I need looking after do you?" He squints at her, but shakes his head. "What do you say we go play in the park I saw at the other end of town? I doubt you always listen to your mom, anyways."

Gray looks shocked for a moment before grinning back at the new girl. He was planning on listening to his mother, but he likes this girl and thinks her idea sounds much more fun. 

"That sounds awesome!" he says, "I can just tell my mom that you ran off and I tried to catch you if she ends up getting upset with me later."

The children run off when the baker goes back to check on the oven. 

They end up in a city park, playing for hours. Kayla learns more about Gray, and tells him what little she can about herself. She keeps up the pretense of living a little ways outside of town with her mom and never once mentions magic, let alone that she knows a great deal of it. Time goes by and the two kids are wrestling around in the snow by the time the sun goes down.

"My mom will want me home by now," Gray says with a sigh, trying to wrestle Kayla off who currently has him pinned down.

"That sucks," Kayla says, plopping down in the snow next to him, "I guess my mom will want me back soon, too."

The two lay there, still laughing a little and breathing heavily from playing around so much. "When's the next time you'll be coming to town?" Gray asks. She shrugs in reply. "No one else likes to play the games I like to play in town, let alone a girl."

Kayla shrugs, not understanding why he’s pointing out the fact that she’s a girl. "I'm not sure. Maybe sometime soon..." She seriously doubts it, but has taken an unexpected liking to Gray. With the decision to visit the village, Kayla hadn't even considered the fact that she would end up talking to anyone. Let alone make a friend.

Before Kayla's able to say anything else, she hears a faint sound high in the sky. It’s the sound of powerful wings flapping. There's no mistaking it, Crysteel is coming home much earlier than expected.

"Well, I definitely have to go now!" Kayla jumps to her feet, followed for a moment by a startled Gray. "I'll see you some other time, okay? Sorry, but I really do have to hurry!" That being the last thing she says, the boy with the dark, messy hair watches the girl with the braids run off towards the mountain. Feeling confused at first, he soon heads towards his own home where Mika Fullbuster is most assuredly waiting for him.

Neither realize that their incidental meeting at the pastry bakery was the most important event to ever happen to them, for if it hadn't happened, both of their lives would've taken drastically different courses. Ones that would be far less interesting and adventurous, but admittedly less dangerous and devastating as well.

Kayla Ravenfrost and Gray Fullbuster's fates are now entwined.


	2. Meeting Their Teacher

Kayla runs as fast as she can up the mountain, struggling as her short legs tire quickly. When she finally gets to the top, it’s too late. The large, white and blue scaled dragon is found waitin, giving her daughter a stern look, "You disobeyed me, Kayla.”

"No, I didn't! You said you'd rather me not go to the village..." the human girl mumbles more as she reaches the end of the sentence, knowing well that Crysteel can still hear her, "I didn't tell anyone about you or my magic. I just played in a park with this boy…"

Crysteel ushers Kayla into the cave. It warms up a great deal as she sighs softly. Even an ice dragon’s breath is warm enough to raise the temperature of a small cave.

"I guess you didn't do anything wrong...” she says, hesitantly. Crysteel was anything but un-protective or careless with those she loves.

“Tell me about your day then, child.”

The dragon lays there apprehensively as Kayla accounts the events that took place while she had gone about her business. Crysteel can see the shy joy in her daughter's eyes. There’s a spark there she very rarely gets to see. Hanging out with this human boy really was a nice experience for her. She wonders if shielding her daughter from other humans, until she’s older and stronger, may not actually be the best idea. Children need companionship with other kids their age.

When Kayla finishes her recounting of the days events, Crysteel sighs again before speaking. “Well, I am glad you enjoyed yourself. But I’m still uncomfortable with you going into the village. In the past, humans with Dragon Slaying magic were targeted. Other mages and wizards saw them as threats. People without magic thought that the Dragon Slayers were there to cause havoc to the world..." Crysteel heaves yet another sigh, seeing the look of guilt and fear in her young child's eyes.

"I'm sorry... I-I didn't think straight... I didn't know..." Kayla whimpers, looking down at her feet. The young girl had assumed it was simply a prejudice to be worried about if she revealed herself. Not that she was actually in any danger.

Crysteel smiles softly, which looks a little weird on the face of a dragon, and puts her head down in front of the girl. Kayla manages to calm down enough to hug her snout.

"It is alright, child. I am simply worried about your safety. The last thing I want is to see you get hurt.”

“I know…”

That night, Kayla and Crysteel talk for a little while more about Gray and what it was like in town. They come up with a compromise that allows Kayla to go down into town once a week for a few hours at a time. The main requirement being that she continues to train and hone her skills as a mage.

Along with the already stressed importance of not disclosing her true identity to anyone.

This would also give Crysteel time to leave the cave and hunt in the mountains every once and awhile, if she found the need.

Weeks go by. Eventually months, and soon a whole year. The strength of Kayla's Dragon Slayer magic is increasing slowly, but surely. She and Gray meet to play in the park every week, soon becoming very close friends. She keeps her secret, never telling him about Crysteel and never using magic while in town.

Most of their time is spent wrestling around, and playing pranks on other kids in town. A little over a year after they met, the two now ten year olds are laying in a snow bank at the edge of a mountain.

"You know, you don't act like a normal girl," Gray says matter-of-factly. It was something he brought up every once in a while. He’s used to the other girls in town having more fun inside of their houses, out of the cold, and they always wore dresses. This is his perception, at least. 

Kayla is very much not like that. Her clothes are similar to Gray’s; she keeps her hair shorter than most– just reaching her shoulders, and her idea of fun is exactly the opposite of what Gray expects girls to want to do

Her clothing choice and favorite activities aren't the only things that sets Kayla apart from the other girls, in Gray's mind. She’s also tough and determined. Headstrong to a fault, maybe, and oh so very sneaky.

"I really don’t get why you feel the need to bring that up," Kayla says, raising an eyebrow at him. “There’s no reason to constantly point out that I’m a girl, or that I’m different from others. We’re different people, so we’re going to be different. Are you saying that I’m better than other girls?”

She usually shrugs this remark off, but all these thoughts and questions on it have been building up for a while now.

Gray looks up at the sky, catching snow on his tongue as it falls.

After a moment he shrugs, “I don’t know. I just mean that you’re, uh... you’re different from everyone I know, really. But more similar to other boys?”

“Whatever.” Kayla shakes her head. All these unnecessary distinctions between girls and boys. Why compare the two?

She really doesn’t get it.

Kayla raises a hand in the air in a fit of boredom, about to summon ice around her small fist before remembering her promise to Crysteel once again. It’s a daily struggle to not tell or show Gray any Dragon Slayer magic. Magic is a fundamental part of who she is.

Both lay there, too exhausted from their earlier races around town to do anything else. Eventually they doze off into a light sleep.

Snow lazily falls around them, covering the trail that led the two to their current resting place. While Kayla is perfectly fine in the cold, Gray begins to shiver in his sleep. The temperature is dropping as fast as the snow.

It’s past the time Gray is supposed to be home, but still a couple of hours before Crysteel is expected to return to the cave, when Kayla wakes up.

She wakes up to the sound of something alike to thunder, not too far from the village.  
Quickly getting to her feet, she attempts to use her dragon senses and pinpoint what the source of the disruption may be. What she hears causes fear to course through her veins, and what she smells is even worse. It’s unlike anything else Kayla has ever experienced. It isn’t human, and it certainly isn’t another dragon.

It’s something much, much worse. 

Kayla takes a few more moments to orient herself, trying to wake her mind up entirely. Adrenaline starts coursing through her veins, and she realizes what she must do next.

"Gray!" Kayla shouts, shaking him as the thundering sound gets louder, "Gray, wake up! We have to get out of here!”

"Whaddisit?" he says, his voice groggy from sleep, "My mom won't mind me being a little la-“

"I said get up!" she says frantically, pulling Gray up against his will, "Something's coming, and I don't think it's frien-“

Before she can finish her sentence, the head of a large horned demon comes into view. Gray finally notices the sound and sees the demon himself. The two children stand frozen in absolute terror.

Kayla’s heart begins pounding in her chest, unsure if it’s from adrenaline or fear. Possibly both. She hears Gray’s beating at a similarly panicked rate.

"What.. What _is_ that?!”

They’re both forced to shout in order to communicate at this point. The sounds from the monster, the people screaming, the destruction, are so terrible and loud that even though the two are screaming at the top of their lungs, it’s hard to hear the other.

"I have no idea..." Kayla whispers to herself. Before Gray can say anything else, she grabs his wrist and starts to pull him towards the mountain, "We need to get to safety!”

"Wait!" Gray pulls his arm away, eyes filled with panic. "My parents! We need to go to them first!”

"But!..." 

Kayla knows they won’t be safe in the town. She can tell the demon monster has already made it to the outskirts from the sound of it’s thunderous footsteps. "Okay, fine, but we need to be fast!”

The girl raised by a dragon and the proud boy with messy black hair run off into the village, making their way towards boy’s house. Destruction follows as the demon destroys everything around them.

_We aren't going to make it. We're going to die if I don't do something_ … Kayla thinks, panicking as the destruction isn't just behind them, but is now coming from all sides. 

Kayla’s heart slowly breaks. She manages to find the sounds of Gray’s parents amongst all the chaos, but they don’t sound anywhere close to okay. There’s no way she can explain this to her friend, however. She must continue towards his house so that he can see for his own eyes, mo matter how much she wants to force him to follow her into the mountains. There’s no safer place than a dragon’s cave in a time of crisis like this.

Gray is determined. He has his eyes focused forward, barely flinching when people push past him– not even turning his attention when someone is crushed by falling debris right next to the pair. 

His companion notices, however. She is making it her job to be as aware as possible in order to lead them along the safest route. 

The smell of blood starts to become overwhelming for Kayla. She has a death grip on Gray’s hand as the two run side-by-side, both becoming more overwhelmed and terrified as they continue rushing through danger. His grip is equally as tight, more from fear about what is possibly becoming of his parents then fear for himself.

They’re a block away from Gray's house when Kayla hears his parents' screaming cut short. 

_No…_

In this moment, she decides that she isn’t going to let him see their still, dead bodies. She can’t imagine what kind of toll that would have on somebody.  
On someone so young. 

On her best friend.

"Gray, I'm so sorry for this," Kayla says, her voice filled with pain. Buildings are toppling over all around them, and Kayla does the one thing she can think of to both keep them safe, and keep her secret. She punches Gray as hard as she can.

The boy slumps to the ground and Kayla makes sure to catch him before any more harm is inflicted.

Laying him on the ground carefully, Kayla quickly stretches her arms up, reaching for the sky.

"Scales of the Ice Dragon!" Kayla yells. Ornate magic circles appear at her hands. Crouching down by Gray's side, ice scales start to creep from the circles above them and form into a dome shape as a feeble attempt at a shield. Kayla continues making more and more scales to the point of exhaustion. The more she makes, the safe they are.

The last thing Kayla sees before passing out is a building falling right on top of them, causing a long crack to form in the thick ice.

___________________________________________________________________

 

A woman walks into the village of rubble with her young disciple, taking account of all the damage. "I didn’t expect the destruction to be quite… this terrible. I’m not sure anyone in town at the time of the attack can still be alive.”

Several meters away from her are Gray and Kayla trapped under piles of rumble. They haven’t been killed or severely injured, thanks to Kayla's efforts. The woman’s voice makes Gray stir, his bruised face twitching.

She notices the disturbance and scans the area quickly, noticing the limp arm of a child.

"Lyon!" the woman calls, "Get over here, we've got a survivor!”

A boy the same age as Kayla and Gray gasps and runs over. All the ice meant to protect them has either dissolved or been destroyed. Small pieces of rubble cover Gray’s lower half, and all that’s visible of Kayla is an arm reaching out.

"There’s two of them,” Lyon informs his teacher, “Hey! Are you guys alright?!”

Gray opens his eyes, groaning at how sore his body is. Kayla, shielded under one of his arms, starts to stir as well. Lyon begins to pull the rubble off of Kayla, freeing her enough so that she can breath properly. 

Neither know what to think of the pair staring down at them, although, they both have similar thoughts as to the younger one’s strange, spiky hair. 

Kayla nods her head ever so slightly to answer Lyon’s previous question. “Cou-.. could we get some help?” she squeaks.

The strangers immediately begin to free them. Once they’re out, the two sit hunched over– rubbing sore body parts and attempting to breath normally.

"Can you two speak? What are your names? I'm Ur, and this is my student Lyon," the woman says, her voice warm and kind, though filled with worry as well. She continues talking to them, asking if they’re okay and filling the silence while they start to relax and get a grip on the situation. 

"I'm Gray," he says finally. His face is filled with the pain one only feels after loosing their home. Anger at the realization that his parents are likely dead. Along with everyone else he has ever known.

Except for Kayla.

"My name's Kayla Ravenfrost," she whispers, staring straight at the ground.

Lyon attempts to give the new kids a smile, but neither will look up at him. The woman sighs and takes one of Lyon's spare jackets out of her bag, placing it around Gray's shoulders. ”Don't despair. I won't leave either of you alone.”

Kayla's eyes widen a little and she frowns. _That's right_ , she thinks, _my family would've been killed by Deliora as well, if what I’ve been telling Gray was true. Should I act like a grieving orphan? Break my promise? Or…_

_Or do I have to disappear?_

No one talks much as the four walk through the rubble on their way out of what was once Gray’s home. Ur attempts to explain that a demon called Deliora destroyed the village, but it only serves to further agitate Gray. 

Kayla is the only one who notices his stifled crying. 

Ur stops once they are on the outskirts of the rubble. Lyon joins goes to her side and the two face their new companions.

"I know what you’re going through right now is tough, and you may feel lost and angry. But you two have a choice. I can take you with me as my apprentices. I will keep you safe, and you’ll have a home. If that doesn’t sound appealing to you, I will take you into town and someone will find a place for you there.”

Before either of them have a chance to speak, she adds, “Lyon here is one of my apprentices, but I think I can manage two more.”

"Apprentices of what?" Gray says, wiping away the last of his tears.

"I'm an Ice Maker Magic wizard," Ur replies, “I will teach you how to harness the same magic, and develop your own power.”

"Magic..." Gray nods a little, expression set in determination as he realizes his new path. "I want to be your apprentice. To become a powerful wizard. I need to get revenge for what's happened to my parents.”

Kayla stays silent. She is only sure of two things at the moment. She doesn’t want to lose Gray, and she has to find Crysteel and figure out what to do. Her mother assuredly knows that she is okay, but can’t come find her. Being discovered would be catastrophic. 

Nothing makes sense to her anymore and time feels as if it’s going by too quickly.

Yesterday evening, Gray and Kayla were racing each other down the main street of his town. When Gray won, Kayla tackled him playfully and the two had so much fun. It’s less than a day later and now Gray’s an orphan, his attitude seems to have changed entirely, and a strange woman is offering to teach the two of them Ice Maker Magic.

"Kayla, you'll come too, right?" Gray gives her an expectant, and slightly authoritative, look.

Not knowing what else to say or do, she nods and keeps her head down. Ur raises an eyebrow at the girl. She can tell that there's something different about her. There’s a strong amount of magical energy coming from Kayla. Lyon, too young and inexperienced to sense magic, gives Kayla a smug grin, seeming to be happy with the fact that she was coming with them. He doesn’t even glance in Gray’s direction.

Before they have the chance to leave town, Gray looks back. His eyes hard with pain and sorrow. "Deliora... You're going to pay for this.” Tears start to stream down Gray's face and Kayla puts a hand on his shoulder, "I'll stop you. I swear it!”

A few tears starting to form in her own eyes, Kayla wraps her arms around her friend and hugs him. Neither say anything. Gray is too frustrated to return the hug, but she sees the appreciation in his eyes.

Once everyone is calm once more, they head to Ur's house. They arrive around nightfall, the temperature nearly below freezing. All three of the kids are exhausted as Ur sets up four blanketed areas in the living room for them to sleep. Lyon immediately lays down and falls asleep, soon followed by Gray.

"What's wrong, Kayla? Aren't you tired?" Ur asks, still trying to understand why this girl remains so reserved. She certainly doesn’t seem to be devastated over the lose of loved ones like her friend is.

Kayla looks up at Ur and nods a little, forming a plan on how to get home. The mountain that Crysteel's cave was on is still close by. She can get home within half an hour or so of diligent running, aided by some magic.

Laying down next to Gray, Kayla relaxes and attempts to release the tension in her body. Ur lays down next to her, and waits until she thinks all the kids are sleeping before resting herself. Kayla herself waits for what seems like hours, but it's only another twenty minutes before Ur's breathing and heart rate slow to confirm that she's fallen asleep.

The young girl slips out of her blanket and sneaks to the door, grabbing her jacket and hat. 

Barely a step outside the house, Ur appears behind her, staying quiet enough so as not to wake the two boys asleep just feet away. "Where are you going, little wizard?”

The girl jumps, falling into the snow outside the door, "W-What do you mean?”

"I can sense your magical power.” Ur walks outside and closes the door behind her. “Where are you going, and why is it I sense such strong magic around you? It’s something I’ve never come across before.”

"I..." Kayla starts to answer, but stops short.

_If I tell her, do I have to leave forever? Is she going to see me as a threat? Just the idea of loosing Gray was enough to make her falter._

**Author's Note:**

> I will hopefully be publishing a new chapter every week sometime during the weekend! Right now I have 10 more chapters written that just need to be edited, and there's more that needs to be written after that. I'd love it if you let me know what you think so far!


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